Colorado House Democrats on Friday chose Rep. Jennifer Bacon of Denver as the chamber's next speaker, making her the first Black woman to hold the job as her party prepares to wield supermajority power at the Capitol.
Bacon, now the assistant majority leader, defeated Rep. Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins for the post. She represents northeast Denver's House District 7, which first elected her in 2020, and will succeed Speaker Julie McCluskie, a term-limited Dillon Democrat.
She will run a 49-member Democratic supermajority when the 76th General Assembly convenes Jan. 11. Democrats also won a Senate supermajority in Tuesday's election, which appears to give the party its first supermajority in both chambers in the history of the state legislature.
Bacon told fellow Democrats that voters, in the June primaries and again on Tuesday, signaled they want change rather than the status quo, and she pledged to put the agenda constituents asked for first. She acknowledged ideological divisions inside the caucus but said they can be bridged.
We can get our house in order — we can fix all those things that we know we need to fix — so we can get to the good work that our voters told us to do,
Jennifer Bacon, Colorado House speaker-elect
A more liberal leadership team
The caucus elected Rep. Javier Mabrey of Denver as majority leader over Rep. Meghan Lukens of Steamboat Springs. The pairing puts two of the chamber's most liberal members in charge, replacing McCluskie and her majority leader, Monica Duran, who were viewed as more moderate. Duran won a state Senate seat on Tuesday.
Rep. Jenny Wilford of Northglenn beat Rep. Regina English of Colorado Springs for assistant majority leader. Reps. Michael Carter of Aurora and Matthew Martinez of Monte Vista will serve as majority whips, while Reps. Jamie Jackson of Aurora and Chad Clifford of Centennial will co-chair the caucus. Jackson and Carter nominated Bacon.
Republicans stick with Caldwell
The depleted, 16-member House Republican caucus reelected Minority Leader Jarvis Caldwell of Colorado Springs, who turned back a challenge from Rep. Ken DeGraaf, also of Colorado Springs.
DeGraaf objected to holding the GOP leadership vote Friday because several statehouse races had not been called. Caldwell said caucus bylaws allow it and that Republicans in those races trail by margins too large to overcome even if every ballot were cured.
Republicans also kept the rest of their leadership team: Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter of Trinidad, Minority Whip Carlos Barron of Fort Lupton and Caucus Chair Anthony Hartsook of Parker.
